Roofer&#39;s shoe



April 19, 1955 J p KENNY 2,706,350

ROOFER'S SHOE Filed A ril 19, 1954 INVENTOR. Jo5e h P, Kenny Obwi g -a ArroQ/veKs United States Patent ROOFERS SHOE Joseph P. Kenny, Floral Park, N. Y.

Application April 19, 1954, Serial No. 423,981

1 Claim. (Cl. 36-2.5)

This invention relates to a novel shoe construction for roofers use, more particularly to a novel shoe element incorporated therein.

Those employed in the construction industry often find it necessary to squat cross legged or seat themselves in other positions with their legs beneath them. worn by these workers in addition to serving in the conventional protective role must also serve to insure a proper frictional grasp between the foot of the wearer and the surface whereon he works. Thus those working on roofs, building-frame works and other precarious perches find it advisable to wear rubber soled shoes which serve to greatly aid in attaining the desired frictional engagement between themselves and the working surface. When, as is often the case, it becomes necessary for them to squat or seat themselves to perform their jobs, they usually do so by tucking their legs under them. As a result the security of foot hold previously provided by the rubber sole is lost. Problems of excessive shoe wear are also engendered since the sides of shoes are not generally adapted to sustain the burden of the wearers weight directly applied. This in addition to the fact that workers in the seated position particularly on roofs will slide along with their feet beneath them thus severely abrading the side of the shoe in contact with the surface on which they are working, results in placing an undue burden on the worker in terms of shoe repair and replacement.

It is also an object of this invention to provide a novel shoe having as a safety feature frictional engaging properties not present in conventional shoes.

These and other objects of the invention which will become apparent from the following specification and claim are achieved by provision of a blank formed from sheet rubber or other material having the like frictional properties. This blank is cut in the shape of a profile view of a shoe and fastened thereto on the right side of a right shoe or the left side of a left shoe. Thus the wearer when tucking his foot under him in a seated position is provided with a surface between himself and the working surface which has the friction engaging and wear resistant properties normally provided by the sole of conventional rubber soled construction workers shoes.

This construction will become more apparent in the following specification taken in conjunction with the drawings wherein:

Fig. 1 is a perspective showing of a shoe provided with the novel wear resistant friction element.

Shoes 2,706,350 Patented Apr. 19, 1955 Fig. 2 is a plan view indicating how the element is formed,

As shown in the drawing the novel shoe element here provided comprises a blank 10 formed from sheet mate rial 11. It has been found most expedient to employ sheet rubber for this material because of its high wear resistant properties and the frictional engagement pro vided with this material when brought into contact with other surfaces. Obviously, however, other materials, having these properties, may readily be substituted without departing from the gist of the present invention.

This blank 10 is formed in the shape of a profile view of a shoe. There will be a portion 12 adapted to cover the outer ankle of calcaneum, a portion 13 adapted to cover the metatarsus, and a portion 14 adapted to cover the toes.

This blank is then fastened to the outside half of a shoe, that is the right shoe will have a blank of this material on its right half, the left shoe will have a blank of this material on its left half. The position of this blank on the shoe body may be further insured by providing the blank with apertures 15 adapted to be matched up with the lace apertures of the shoe to which the blank is applied. Thus in use the laces aid in retaining the blank in position on the shoe. Fastening the blank to the shoe may be accomplished by any of the conventional methods such as sewing, stapling, gluing, etc.

By the arrangement of parts above disclosed it should be obvious that the wearer of these shoes is now in a position to seat himself with his legs underneath him without unduly abrading the shoe and is also provided with the desired frictional engagement between himself and the surface whereon he is seated, precluding any undesired sliding.

The above disclosure is given by way of ellucidation and example and not by way of limitation and may lend itself to a variety of expressions within the scope of the appended claim.

What is claimed is:

A high topped laceable roofers shoe comprising an upper, a rubber sole portion, and a flexible wear resistant pad firmly attached to the outer surface of the outer side of the upper and extending from the midpoint of the toe to the midpoint of the heel and extending from the sole to the top margin of the upper, whereby a frictional surface is provided for gripping the roof, said pad being provided with lace openings.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 343,777 Strickland June 15, 1886 558,279 Higgins Apr. 14, 1896 909,929 Olander Jan. 19, 1909 1,717,127 Toole June 11, 1929 1,727,728 Otallah Sept. 10, 1929 2,358,161 Hendricks Sept. 12, 1944 

